A few days ago, social media erupted with the news of a man being hit by a train while taking a selfie video in Hyderabad. Reports of how he was admitted into a nearby hospital and treated, along with subsequent awareness drives regarding the dangers of taking ‘adventurous’ selfies, filled the internet. Twitterati, in a rare moment of solidarity, called the man’s stunt an act of ‘foolishness’.
Soon after, however, reports surfaced that the video was a prank. Now, making things murkier, it is being said that the news of it being a prank too was a false report!
According to a report by The News Minute, authorities have confirmed to the portal that the incident did occur, but the man, Shiva, survived with just a few injuries.
The incident occurred on 21 January. Although the Home Guard who was there at the spot cautioned him, he continued taking the video. Fortunately, he didn’t sustain any major injuries. After being hit, panicked by the incident, the Home Guard, Shiva and his brother-in-law fled from the spot. When they came back to recover the cell phone we detained them (brother-in-law and Shiva). Subsequently, after filing a case they were sent to the Railway magistrate who imposed a fine of Rs 500 for trespassing. We have the case records to substantiate that the incident did happen.B Ramakrishna, Senior Divisional Commissioner, Railway Police Force to The News Minute
Shiva was unavailable on his phone after repeated attempts were made to reach out to him, said the report.
“He did not expect the video to go so viral, and therefore he has switched off his phone,” Shiva’s friend told TNM on the condition of anonymity.
Shiva's brother-in-law, Revi Kutla Satish, a resident of Madhapur who works as a gym instructor, however, clarified what really happened that fateful day.
Satish said, “The incident took place on Sunday (21 January). It is not a fake video. He did sustain minor injuries to his head and hand.”
He also claimed that the train barely touched Shiva, but the sheer speed caused him to fall back seconds before it would have hit him.
However, Satish says that Shiva still fell down near the tracks and the phone flew out of his hand, which gave the illusion that the young man was hit directly by the train.
Shiva's brother-in-law and friend have admitted to TNM that “it was a foolish and dangerous prank” which they regretted.
A few days ago a news report by ABN Andhra Jyothi, a Telugu news channel, claimed Shiva, and his friends, had staged the whole episode. A video of Shiva and his friends laughing about the incident was also shared by the news channel to back up its claim.
According to Nellutla Kavitha, a reporter at ABN Andhra Jyothi, Shiva is a general instructor at a gym in Madapur and had staged the whole incident, in an attempt to ‘create awareness’ about the value of life in terms of taking dangerous selfies.
According to an earlier report by PTI, Shiva had escaped with injuries as he was knocked down by a train while aiming for the daring shot. The apparent incident came to public attention last week when the video went viral on social media.
Shiva was apparently attempting to take a selfie with a fast approaching Multi-Modal Transport System (MMTS) train, while standing next to the tracks near the Borabanda station.
Many on social media had come out lambasting the stunt as ‘heights of stupidity’, appealing to the youths to not pull off similar stunts.
The video shows the young man smiling into his smartphone camera and pointing at the approaching train with his right hand. As the train comes closer, the on-duty guard is heard warning him. However, he ignores the warning and is heard saying "one minute".
The video ends with a thud as the young man appears to have been hit by the train, following which a commotion ensues as people rush towards him.
Hailing from Warangal town of Telangana, Shiva had reportedly sustained injuries on his head and hands. News of him even being admitted to a private hospital, where he underwent treatment, had made the rounds, according to PTI.
According to the PTI report, he had been counselled and a case under the Railways Act was registered against him, a press release by the South Central Railways said.
But now, it seems it was all just a prank.
According to ABN Andhra Jyothi’s report, Shiva is now absconding.
(With inputs from PTI, IANS, The News Minute and ABN Andhra Jyothi )
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)